Latest On Atlanta Braves’ Outfielder Hector Olivera

Information Still Being Pieced Together About Incident from Early Wednesday Morning Involving Olivera

On Tuesday evening the Atlanta Braves played the Washington Nationals, losing a tough-fought contest 2-1.  The game ended at roughly 9:52pm local time.  After media sessions, hitting the post-game “spread”, showers and changing, a bus would have driven the team back to their hotel – the Ritz Carlton in Arlington, VA – a distance of 4.3 miles and roughly 10 minutes from the ballpark.  This could have all been done as early at 11pm, though perhaps lingering to 11:30pm.

Events from then until the initial report from the female victim are not known at this time.  What we do know is that the woman called 911 at 6:51am from the hotel with the report of an “assault.”  She displayed visible bruising to the police and told them that Hector Olivera was responsible.  The report further indicates that the pair are known to one another, though there has been no further characterization of a relationship or even how well they are acquainted, though initial reports suggested a “domestic dispute”.

The woman was driven to Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington.  She was treated and released by Wednesday afternoon.  Arlington Police reports also suggest that alcoholic beverages were involved in the incident – for both Olivera and the woman.

Late on Wednesday, Arlington police entered a single charge of misdemeanor assault and battery against Olivera in court.  He was assigned a bail of $10,000, double the ‘expected’ amount.  For the record, the charge is for a physical assault only; no sexual assault is alleged.  Reports indicate that he posted bond and then headed to the airport, presumably flying to his home in Miami.

While not an American citizen, Olivera – born in Santiago de Cuba – would not be subject to deportation as Cuban expatriates fleeing that nation enjoy a special protective immigration status.

Major League Baseball acted swiftly yesterday, placing Olivera on Administrative Leave, which is a paid status pending the investigation through the Commissioner’s office.  The Braves then placed him on their Restricted List, allowing them to replace him with Daniel Castro.  Being “restricted” would also allow Atlanta to add another player to the 40-man roster, but I would not envision that happening any time soon – certainly not prior to the end of the investigation.

Olivera can make a request to be reinstated to the roster during the investigation.  Such a request would have to be made through Frederic Horowitz, baseball’s independent arbitrator.

Irrespective of the criminal court system’s findings and/or punishment, the Commissioner of Baseball has the power to investigate the incident and issue his own penalties.

(Information from multiple media sources was used for this report, including these:  1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

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